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What'll You Do With Your Body When You're Done With It?
By Tom Berg
Not long ago I had to show my driver's license for identification. The gal who needed my ID chuckled when she looked at my photo. There, on my forehead, was a red dot that said "donor."
"You're going to donate your head for transplant?" she asked. "I don't think anyone would want that," I laughed, too. "But maybe they could use something else."
I moved the adhesive-backed dot to where it belonged on my CDL and, checked the donor card that I store with my license. Yup, the card was there, all signed and ready to go, just in case.
Most people seem to want to protect their bodies, even after they no longer need them. Many tell their next of kin where they want to be buried or cremated, and maybe how they'd like their funerals run. Some even "pre-arrange" all of it through funeral directors, which takes the burden off the bereaved.
But few folks consider others who might need some body part or other to continue living. I figure that if someone can use my eyes, heart, lungs or some other no-longer-needed organ, who am I to carry them to the grave where they'll rot uselessly?
Remember Walter Payton, the former Chicago Bears great who went begging for a liver transplant that might have saved his life? Yes, a rare kind of cancer soon disqualified him as a transplant prospect, but his plight underscored the sad shortage of organ donors.
Congress and the White House are aware of the shortage and are grappling with it. The administration wants to change the way organs are distributed around the country, and Republicans in Congress want to block the change. The fight made headlines , so it must be a serious matter.
Of the millions of people who die from all causes in the U.S. every year, few bother to arrange that final gift. Some harbor religious reasons for wanting to keep their bodies intact. I remember the admonition, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." But when He's done with my body, why not put it to continued use?
Gerald Taylor, a trucker from North Carolina, is an extraordinary example of the value of organ donation. Dying from lung disease, he got a lung in 1994 from a 19-year-old. Soon, Taylor, 60, felt better than he had in years and stunned his physicians by returning to the road. He has since driven more than 1 million miles, and carries a banner honoring the donor and aimed at persuading others to sign that card.
How about you? You never know whom you'll help. If you think it won't matter much, just remember life is short, death can come suddenly, and maybe before you know it, you won't need your body. Someone else can probably use parts of it.
If you don't already carry a donor card, please print out the one below. Fill it in and sign it. Carry it in your wallet, with your CDL. And — very important — be sure your spouse, next of kin and your supervisors know of your intention to give the gift of living.
And ask them to sign a donor card, too!
I Want to Share My Life!
Organ/Tissue Donor Card
I wish to donate my organs and tissues and have shared my decision
with my family. I wish to give:
___any needed organs and tissues ____ only the following organs and tissues
__________________________________________________
Donor Signature___________________ (Date)
Witness___________________
Witness___________________
(Carry one card with you at all times and give a copy to your family.)
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